July 26, 2013

Sometimes an idea comes along that is so obvious, you have to wonder why someone hasn’t done it sooner.

To those of us waking up to the realization that our food supply is now loaded with artificial ingredients that simply didn’t exist when we were kids, we are often confronted with a choice: pay more for foods free from these artificial ingredients, turn a blind eye or simply eat less of our childhood favorites.

But it turns out there is another option, thanks to an argument between a kid and his parents over a loaded bag of Halloween candy. It took a kid to ask “Why? Why do our favorite foods have to be so loaded with ingredients that are bad for us? And why do better for you foods have to cost more? Why does it have to be this way?”

This short video tells the story of how he aimed to find out.

As he reached out to learn more about some of his favorite foods, his mission resonated with a lot of people: Tom Brady, Gisele, Dr. Mark Hyman and Matt Damon. For example, did you know…

• Artificial food dyes like Yellow 5, Red 40 and some other artificial additives in America’s leading candies carry warning labels in countries like the UK and France and in some cases not used at all by our American food companies overseas?
• America’s favorite peanut butter cups contain TBHQ, a preservative which is also used as a corrosion inhibitor in biodiesel?
• Candy can be made with lots less sugar rather than the high doses of high fructose corn syrup?
• High fructose corn syrup is not only used to sweeten food but also packed into it to help preserve its shelf life?

A growing number of Americans think food should be made with real ingredients, affordable to all of us, and not be full of ingredients that are no longer used in other countries.

So for those of us who have family members who are not yet part of the food movement, who might roll their eyes or simply dismiss it as the concern of a parent, this just might change their minds because it meets you where you are. Sometimes, changing the food can be as simple as a candy bar.

And if you think about it, if this little company can do it with candy, we can do it with anything.